Pluto’s New Moon Vega Station

Fixed star Vega, photographed here by the Spitzer Space Telescope,

is twenty-five light years away from us in constellation Lyra

(photo credit: JPL, NASA)

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As this post hits the digital airwaves, dwarf planet Pluto is going on station. The actual station-retrograde moment occurs at 3:52 in the morning on Friday, April 17th (in the UT/+0 time zone), but given the nature of stations as indicators of things ‘taking a turn’ in life, it just isn’t unusual for things to happen just in advance - or just after - a station’s occurrence.

And the likelihood of something Plutonic happening to you...? That increases (or decreases) with how exactly Pluto aspects your natal chart.

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The closer the aspect, the stronger the effect.  And since we’re talking Pluto, the closer to the actual time and date of station, the more transformative the effect. With Pluto going from direct motion into retrograde, we’re going from just shy of seven months of adapting to externally into about five months of changing on the inside - or finding out how we’ve already changed, and what that means to us in some long(er) run.

With Pluto taking this ‘turn’ in perfect conjunction with fixed star Vega, part of what we’re going through involves a sorting through standards and ‘structures,’ be they physical, mental, moral, fiscal, occupational or otherwise - and what we’re finding there is that things are either changing ... or never were what we wanted to think they were to begin with.

And no, we can’t forget about it.

Nor are we particularly enthralled about it, even in the case of those (you know who you are...!) who are utterly determined to resist, that being one of the easiest things to read from the grand trine (in earth signs) which Pluto is in as it goes into retrograde.

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This‘resisting’ force is symbolized by Mars, though at 12 Taurus there is every chance that some of us will be beginning to tackle or work through things which have been resisted, but which for whatever reason are now beginning to be recognized as an area of life or attribute or situation in need of investment and attention, not something simply to be taken on its hard-shell face.

The other member of this triad being Black Moon Lilith at 15 Virgo, an odd combination which speaks either to a determined effort to deny any responsibility for dealing with particular facts/truths even if they will benefit your aim, goal or ‘cause’... or which speaks to some sort of determined effort which, in seeking to control how others act, think or prioritize, gets confronted by some sort of transformative energy which ends up changing the goal or the point of the effort itself.

Moreover, this particular Pluto station is also part of an ‘almost complete’ grand sextile.

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In not being complete, this figure won’t be important to many of us. However, IF you’re someone with a planet, dwarf planet, node, cusp or axis point positioned between 4 and 7 degrees of Libra in your natal chart, that point will complete this grand sextile (filling in the question mark above), telling us that what you’re doing and things which are now in progress are going to change your life - not just transform your direction or change your mind but change your life in fairly short order.

This doesn't have to be a big change - but it can be. It may be something only you recognize or even suspect. It may only matter to you. Or it may have not ever  crossed your mind until now. With this being a grand sextile in fire and air taking place as Pluto takes station in an earth signs, there is a bit of an abstract quality about something both fateful and very real ... which in time you will grow to recognize as a learning experience you were never in control of.

And even if you’re not on the grand sextile list, there are two other figures included with fire and air sign sprinkle, one of which is a Kite... 

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... and the other of which is a Magic Rectangle...

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...which unlike the possible grand sextile DO both apply to everyone - at least as ‘modifiers’ to whatever Pluto station matters we’re each experiencing.

Not that they work the same way, though. Kites speak of opportunities which we want to harness, or which need to be harnessed, lest something get off course or fail to live up to its nature. Kites ‘aim’ at a goal which is pictured by the object at the top of the kite - which in this case, is Ceres at 3 Aquarius, speaking to difficulties or people who are experiencing painful difficulties and our efforts to guard against such things, to fix whatever may be causing the difficulties, or even the determination to ‘guard’ or ‘protect’ some painful status quo from criticism or interference.

But with kites, we don’t ‘aim’ right for the goal - we ‘steer’ towards it, doing that steering from the position of the kite’s “tail” (here, Juno at 7 Leo),  which if you think of that point as where a kite’s string would attach makes total sense.

As for Juno at 7 Leo, that speaks to a (Juno) managing or management of some situation, aim or tendency through the intelligent construction (constructing) of that which is the most creative and ‘aimed at’ (this being the Aquarius part) not one’s personal aims, but those bigger or more overarching considerations which if improved will bring about the result or reward we are hoping for (and thus our personal rewards).

Pluto Station-Retrograde (glyph chart)

April 17, 2015 - 3:52 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Pluto station-retrograde (text chart)

April 17, 2015 - 3 52 (UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Magic rectangles differ from kites in that kites are something we actively do (or are in the middle of doing) and magic rectangles refer most often to things which are, or which have been set up, created or which have come to be without all that much effort on our part, and which because they are just so ‘magical’ (and more or less magically effortless) in our lives we don’t tend to value as someone else - someone who doesn’t have our talent, our heritage or inheritance, how someone who doesn’t have our problems OR our privileges might see things.

And that being what it may, all goes well (or terribly) for us in this seemingly unending way until something ‘breaks the spell’ and the magic suddenly ends.

Once “broken” (which with a natal magic rectangle is timed through difficult transits to the points which make up the figure) magic rectangles are difficult to heal, solve or otherwise resurrect. It’s as if the ability remains, but because it wasn’t “worked for” in the “normal” sense, there seems to always be some sort of inability to put things back together.

In this case (a strictly transiting magic rectangle), the points are Ceres, Saturn, Juno and Venus, with Venus in opposition to Saturn and Ceres (as we just discussed in reference to the kite) in opposition from Leo to Aquarius. Saturn is still at 4 Sagittarius - the degree it was at when it went retrograde back on March 14th ...

-link to post-

Saturn Retrograde - Phaethon Direct

... and Venus is at 6 Gemini, a degree known for separating fact from fiction and facts from feelings, resulting in insights which though correct can prove very unpopular and a preference (or need to remain confined to) surface examinations, perhaps because this degree insists on equal emphases on ability and (emotional) motivation if success is to be achieved.

Venus/Saturn in opposition is considered one of the few oppositions which are fortunate (and even sometimes stabilizing) in business world and when it comes to dealing with money. This combination is also very good for making plans which require consideration of details and/or ‘costs,’ be they financial or to anything else - such as a schedule or some other plan which now needs to be changed.
Pluto’s station isn’t affecting any of these dynamics directly. But that they are occurring at the same time as Pluto’s station does suggest how, with regards to something in your life which you identify personally as having its reflection in either with the grand sextile, the kite or the magic rectangle (or maybe all three!) ... how that situation or effort is going through a transformative time.

Or how ‘other’ (Pluto) things around you in life and the world which are in the process of changing are causing (even forcing) you to alter your plans - maybe even fatefully so.

And that things may (read: will) change? Or that they’re changing? Or that many of us will be or become the person who enacts that change - or that we’ll begin changing in our own life?

With Pluto turning to retrograde on the 17th just a day after Earth has begun its annual Lyrid Meteor Shower (and a day before a New Moon at 28 Aries on the 18th) we are getting a double dose of finger pointing in the Vega direction. After all, not only is Pluto going retrograde in perfect conjunction with Vega, but this station is occurring one day after the Lyrid Meteor shower (which runs from April 16th through the 25th) begins.

Constellation Lyra is, after all, where Vega lives.

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And if that’s not enough, comet Thatcher (the comet which produces the Lyrids) has its radiant (apparent origination point) IN Lyra, a constellation which portrays the ‘musical instrument’ (and ‘harmonic tones,’ one could argue) used by god Apollo.

Which makes perfect sense when we think of Vega as the heart of this constellation and thus a symbol of all which softens our resistance and ‘attunes’ us to the qualities of Apollo’s enlightenment - that being so very close to what we call ‘charisma.’

So this issue of what pleases us, what we think ‘looks good’ or ‘sounds good,’ the qualities of charisma (that which enchants us) and/or our qualities of charisma (that with which we enchant others) ... all that is now up for grabs (one hopes not literally) with what others think of us as easily transformed as what we think of them (or ‘that,’ should our focus be a situation, goal or object rather than a person).

Does that mean everything will go wrong now?

Not necessarily. It all really depends on our relationship to Plutonic forces and desires - said desires so often being aimed at what we want others to do or be, when the real issue is how vulnerable we really feel. We’re all exceptionally good at fooling ourselves on this point - we tend to think Plutonic acts and choices are about our ‘strength’ instead of our fervent desire not to be seen as weak.

Or maybe worse yet, to have to live with our feelings of incapacity, weakness or vulnerability. That, we REALLY don’t like, especially at times when Pluto energies become active.

You know, like about now. So we can all expect to be going through some ‘stuff’ which we don’t like at all - and in response to what we think of as something someone else is “doing to us” (or to our efforts), we are likely to get all hot and Pluto-obsessive, which is not the way we “win” (or prevail) where Pluto is concerned.

Here’s the Pluto rule: no matter how demanding or upsetting the situation is, first, know your position. Then state it - ONCE - in its simplest and most honestly and complete terms.

Then BE QUIET. Go about your business. Let the fur fly. Let others stir up all the dust they want to stir up.

If you have understood the problem and truly proceeded on honest facts, and IF you have chosen your course of action (or priorities) based not on emotion but on an understanding of your fears as well as the needs of others (without giving in emotionally to either side) ... then, when the dust settles, you will win out.

I know - this sounds odd. Particularly odd as we associate Pluto with passion, obsession and overwhelming odds, feelings and outcomes. But that’s just the point: Pluto’s positives are outcomes which occur when we do things for the right reason, not because we desire a given outcome.

And when we don’t go that route?

That’s when Pluto becomes a symbol of an emotional world of pain ... a painfully emotional world and a world of emotionality driven by pain.

So what does all this mean in connection with a New Moon in Aries - specifically at 28 Aries?

Every New Moon is about something new, be it the phase of a continuing project, a new perspective on something or someone you know or a new plan, reason or action which leads to getting something done, whether externally or otherwise.

New Moon in Aries (glyph chart)

April 18, 2015 - 19:56 (7:56 pm) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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New Moon in Aries (text chart)

April 18, 2015 - 19:56 (7:56 pm) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Before we move on, a few notes from the ‘Oh, What a Difference a Day Makes’ file. Between the time Pluto goes on station and the New Moon, the Moon will have moved over twenty degrees, completely disrupting the grand sextile and kite formations seen at Pluto’s station.

The magic rectangle is still there. Pluto’s private grand trine is still there. But the opportunity (or perhaps the need) which might have allowed us to steer something - that’s over.

Being at 28 Aries, this New Moon will emphasize  personal issues in that we’re likely to take things personally - even overly so, as in the case of those who will see something happen in the world around them and give up or walk away. Aries is always a fairly temperamental sign this way, but its not always as prone to disappointment (and all which goes on inside of us when we’re feeling disappointed) as at the moment.

Some of this may be useful in how it may be a reflection of our realizing that something we’ve been doing is either ‘over’ or it’s not going to work (or can’t work) the way we thought it would - which for some equals defeat. But for others, maybe it just means we need to take a step back and think (or plan) through again. At least one astrologer has written about this degree as having something of a different response depending on our age as well, with younger people feeling more disappointments (or feeling their setbacks more acutely) than those who have lived long enough to think of life in less black-and-white terms.

But whoever we are, this New Moon’s degree - and thus the lunar month it is spearheading emphasizes support, help and the equal abilities of men and women to be receptive of others and generous in kind.

Evidently that matters at the moment. Not only that, it’s also part of everything we’re doing by way of sorting through the differences between what we thought was ‘worth it’ or valuable or inspirational or what we wanted ... and what things have turned out to be-and/or-become.

With Pluto going retrograde on the 17th, the two-day station allowance we give such events ends on Sunday the 19th. And since Sunday the 19th is the date that Pallas goes retrograde (at 0 Capricorn) and the second of April’s scheduled meteor showers (the Eta Aquarids) begins, in the wake of Pluto’s station ... and the New Moon ... it would appear we will be ‘sparked’ to some new (Pallas) or new level of perspective.

Pallas has been sitting at 0 Capricorn since it entered the sign just after Jupiter’s station on the 8th, promoting patience and the need for patience as much with our Self as others as we try - often ineffectively - to communicate forms of inner truth to others even as we protect our beliefs or abilities from unnecessary harm. Will Pallas’ going retrograde mean we will now gain some perspective on our Self as to why we get listened to and not listened to? Not necessarily, but maybe. What would seem to be likely apart from that would be our gaining some ‘transformative’ perspective through (or as) we simply live through these days - which in its own way will give us perspective on who we have been being ... who we can be ... and why one thing might work better for us than another. Given Pallas’ turn to retrograde as the Eta Aquarids start up (they start on April 19th and run until May 28th), we can expect some natural societal, society, social, systemic and networking energies - anything which to us defines the path to and experience of ‘success’ (however we define that) to be part of this mix. Given the Aries New Moon, there are aspects of this introduction of Big Picture Aquarian (Eta Aquarid) vibe which apply to health, lifestyle and overall functionality ... and then again, there are aspects of the current energetics which are very definitely more egocentric - and about whether our ego is getting in the way (our way).

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Plus, there is the fact that this part of the station - the ‘aftermath’ and evolutionary part which starts us into seeing what we need to leave behind and where we need to go in order to renew or reinvent our Self and efforts in times ahead ... all of that is taking place on the day when the Sun is at 29 “critical” degrees of Aries - a degree known as useful to those willing to make determined efforts (now and in the days, weeks and months to come) and which though not particularly elegant, is willing to grapple with the ugly as well as the beautiful, if only because the energy of 29 Aries seeks to build on that which is solid while eliminating the tendency to hesitate or otherwise waste time and energy on appearances which in the end are merely ‘advertising.’

In the end, we are what we do. That’s very 29 Aries - as is the inbuilt-desire and effort to work peacefully and to have everything work out for the best as the Sun moves on into Taurus, where who we are (and aren't) come back to haunt us not only through what we are (and have done through a month of Aries-centric self-motivated doings) - but through what we aren't, especially in our own soul.

Thus will we be ... and find ourselves transformed.
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The Lyrid Meteor Shower 2013

Image based on a map of constellations Lacerta, Cygnus, Lyra,

Vulpecula and Anser as pictured in 1825

(courtesy of the Library of Congress, retouching by Sidney Hall)

The 2013 edition of the sky show known as Lyrid Meteor Shower begins on April 16th and continues on through April 25, peaking on April 20th. Admission is free, all you have to do is go outside at night somewhere where’s its dark enough to actually see the depth of the sky. (Which means everyone who lives in a city probably does have to pay some price – that involved in getting to a place where the sky is dark enough to show up this glimmering rain!)

 

The Lyrids, like other meteor showers, are named for the direction the comet which produces them ‘appears’ to come from in the sky. In the case of the Lyrids, the comet’s name is Thatcher (also known as ‘C1861 G1’ in astronomy-speak) and the constellation is Lyra.

Maybe that rings a bell? We were discussing Lyra just a few weeks ago in a post on the long-term conjunction by Pluto of Lyra’s most famous star, Vega.

Transforming Charisma:

Pluto conjuncts Vega

Mind you, Thatcher evidently doesn’t actually originate inside the boundaries of Lyra. It’s ‘radiant’ point (i.e., the point from which the comet seems to radiate) is just beside Lyra. So if we think of Lyra as the lyre of Orpheus (which in Greek thinking is what it’s supposed to be), then maybe Thatcher is the ‘hand’ which holds the lyre.

I have nothing to prove that…it’s just a thought. But if so, then the Lyrids may be those ‘sparks from heaven,’ those little dapples of input from ‘beyond’ which tell us to ‘look what we have,’ be that in material, human or spiritual terms.

Orpheus had enormous gifts. He was a musician capable of charming the beasts of the field and even that implacable god of the dead – Hades (who give or take a Disney movie or two is generally known by modernists and in most walks of astrology as Pluto).

There are various stories about Orpheus’ parentage, so we don’t know whether he was a god immortal or a full-blooded mortal or one of those many mythic Greek half-and-half types. What we do know is that when it comes down to it, the Orpheus story (specifically his inability not to look back when rescuing his lady love Eurydike) makes it very plain that Orpheus had his flaws and insecurities, just like the rest of us.

(Greek gods had their flaws too, which is why this is hard to sort out.)

Should we combine that ‘don’t look back’ with the idea of investing ourselves in our talents? Are the Lyrid meteors some metaphysical twinkle about the need to move forward? Or are they a ‘shot in the dark’ which points out how off-key we really can be?

Just to toss in a quirky little note here, during last year’s Lyrid shower, a few of those meteors made their impacts literally felt down here on Mama Earth. It was not the huge ‘bang’ we all heard about early in 2012 when a big meteor exploded in the skies above Russia, no. But there were two little Lyrid chunks large enough to earn notice. One came to rest in a California parking lot near Sutter’s Mill – which if you’re up on your California history is a place famous from the gold rush days.

Fragments of what is now being called 'the Sutter's Mill meteorite' one of

thousands of meteors which fell as part of the 2012 Lyrid shower.

(photo credit: astronomer Peter Jenniskens and Eric James NASA-Ames Laboratory)

And the other came to rest in northern Guatemala.

I've highlighted the location of Tikal, the 'Queen of the Mayan Cities'

- one of many fascinating places to be explored in northern Guatemala. 

I found this out while doing research for this blog. And yes – I was surprised. After all, about the time those two meteors fell with a ‘klunk’ (one supposes) onto planet Earth, I was a person living in California working on shaping up their first eBook. That book is all about my very personal and spiritual experiences which began in Mexico, but which led me to Tikal in northern Guatemala, a place which left an endemic imprint on my soul, a place which touched me like no other place on this planet ever has.

Yes, there are a few non-spiritual moments too. More than a few, actually. But that's one of the things about human life and experience, isn't it? Sometimes its the mix, the combination, the dichotomy, the combination of ethereal and flesh-bound which makes our lives so rich.

I released that book during 2012 even though I wrote it during the 1990s for the very reason you might suspect – 2012 was the end of one of the (many) Mayan calendar counts. In launching ‘Travel Gossip,’ I took to the waves as a book author. And while that was a landmark for me, just as important – if not more important – was my wanting to make a contribution to the human pool of metaphysical and mortal thought at a time when according to Maya lore, people would be entering a new phase of awareness and growth.

And, of course, all the challenges which go with new ways and the need to grow.

Here’s the link to the page where you can get a copy of ‘Travel Gossip’ if you’d like to read it.

Link to the “Travel Gossip” page

at Amazon.com (US)

(For those not in the US, there are pages for ‘Travel Gossip’ on all the Amazon book sites world-wide.)

The real reason I bring this up (besides telling you how surprised I was to learn about those two meteors) is because this sort of ‘reminder’ is, I think, typical of meteor showers. They’re twinkles and glimmers – and yes, occasionally the big boom or the klonk on the head (hopefully not in real time) when life wants us to realize that we really are part of the All, the greater thing we call the world and the whole of life.

If we get that far, then maybe the eyes of our mind and soul become better attuned to the vision of our place in the vastness of the universe and our value to the time in which we live.

And thus the values of our talents.

And the need to accept life and not doubt what we can do for the good of all – and how that comes back to us as opportunities for growth and on occasion, the need and opportunity to work towards self-redemption.

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Lyrid Meteor Shower 2012

 Comet Bradfield from Cactus Flats in northeast Colorado,

 just before sunrise (photo credit : Starmom - May 2004)

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This year’s Lyrid meteor shower comes to its crest on April 21, telling us that we can expect life to be  peppered with a ‘shower’ of ideas and input during this time.

The 'Lyrids' (as they're known) will be visible for several days - as they are every year - but with there being a New Moon on the 21st, this is a particularly good time to use the darkened sky as a backdrop for enjoying nature's splendor.

That said, is this an important, serious or otherwise earth-shattering astrological time? Maybe, maybe not. But whether or not it's important...it is a time likely to offer grist for our mental mill. Little problems, figuring out how to deal with little problems, votes for and against things we’re considering doing, figuring out how to get things done and achieve our personal aims…that would all be entirely typical of this time.

Here's what NASA has to say on the subject. They've put up a nifty little video, too. Very astronomical!

LINK TO: NASA'S 2012 LYRID PAGE
 

There’s a blog on the Lyrids posted last year here on astroPPM...

LINK TO: The Lyrid Meteor Shower

...that deals (in some detail) about the theory of meteor showers and what comet Thatcher – the comet responsible for the Lyrids – is about.

At least at some levels. But like all astrology - there's always more to say!

For those who want the Cliff Note version of the 2011 'chat,' comets are objects which, instead of orbiting around the Sun per se, make big loops starting somewhere Out There and coming whatever distance in towards ol’ Sol.

In Thatcher’s case, the aphelion (farthest from the Sun) position is truly way out there: Thatcher’s aphelion distance is 110.443 AU (one ‘AU’ or astronomical unit being the distance from Earth to the Sun). Just to compare, Jupiter’s aphelion is 5.458 AU and Neptune’s is 30.44 AU.

So 110 AU? That’s a whole long ways away.

On the inside track, Thatcher is also something of a celestial overachiever. It’s perihelion (the closest point to the Sun) is at 0.9207 AU – and since anything less than ‘1’ would indicate something which is inside Earth’s orbit, this tells us that Thatcher is what’s known as a ‘earth crossing comet.’

Don’t worry though…it isn’t going to hit us. As a matter of fact, at this very moment, Thatcher is pretty much as far away from Earth as it gets on its 415.5 year orbital journey.

 The orbit of Comet Thatcher as diagrammed

 by NASA/JPL for April 22, 2012

But metaphysically, it still does cross Earth’s orbit. So this is an object which astrologically we would consider emblematic of ‘information coming to us from out of the blue.’

Or out of the very cold darkness, to be more outer space about it. And considering how outer space is pretty much a vacuum, this is an interesting commentary on meteor showers in general. The information which turns up during a meteor shower fill may well ‘fill in the gaps’ where some greater issue is concerned. Or they may be ideas which fill in the gaps in our time. Or ideas about how to use those little gaps in our time.

Drawing on the long-built logic and lore concerning the Lunar Nodes, we would also think that any other ‘Earth crossing’ object would also represent an ‘intersection.’ In this case the orbit being crossed is that of Earth orbiting the Sun: our greater life plan, our purpose, our consciousness, our life in general.

And the source? That’s probably the most informative point here. Considering where Thatcher is at the moment (i.e., near to being as far away from us as possible), that which ‘comes to us’ now – whether in the form of an idea or an event – is coming from…from where? From way out there.

Think of this in terms of expressions like ‘out of left field,’ ‘out of the blue,’ or the ever-to-be-marveled-at ‘from a whole other direction than what I expected!’

Can this be good? Yes. Can it be a pain? Yes. After all, let’s go back to that Thatcher aphelion point – 110.443 AU. That’s beyond Sedna, for goodness sake! Yes, even when Sedna’s at it’s farthest from the Sun, Thatcher goes beyond that.

And it’s not like Sedna is at its farthest from Earth at the moment. It doesn’t reach it’s actual perihelion (closest approach to Earth) until the year 2076. And even at that, it’s going to be 76AU away – over twice as far away as Neptune is from us at it’s furthest.

The orbit of Sedna as diagrammed by

NASA-JPL for April 22, 2012 

But let’s think this through…so Sedna is about as close to us as it gets and Thatcher is about as far away as Thatcher gets.

Put simply, they’re both way out there though Sedna is (metaphorically) ‘pressing in upon us.’ And that says that all the Sedna ‘issues’ – the management of our superegos and identities and all the problems which go with maturity (or lack thereof) and earning-versus-entitlement - or put another way, narcissism – are naturally being shown up either in our lives or in the world around us?

So this Thatcher ‘sprinkling’ we’re getting? It may be about any of these subjects. Maybe you’re becoming more informed about something. Maybe it’s insight which pertains to you or someone you know – or maybe even why you know them?

Identity – in it’s greatest sense, positive and negative – seems a key Sedna quotient. All the pluses and all the ‘ikky bits’ (as a British girlfriend once put it to me) are very Sedna indeed. Why? Because the good of our nature is that we either share or harness in making efforts and the greedy, me-me-me side of our personality, the side which says I’m entitled to do this or take it out on somebody else or try and make life all about me, my problems or my desires…that’s part of our nature too. By polarizing us in a way we humans think of as ‘maturity’ (emotional, intellectual, spiritual – one or all) Sedna periods signal when such qualities will be our signature, our challenge, our aim or our downfall.

So whether you’re having to deal with Sedna issues or Sedna ‘stuff’ is being evoked in you (either to your surprise or because its habitual)…or even if you’re just feeling bombarded by stories which strike you as Sedna like in this world…this Lyrid meteor shower is an adjunct to same.

But Thatcher – and thus the Lyrid Meteor Shower – is more than just about Sedna. Remember, Thatcher goes outside of Sedna’s orbit and from there ‘brings to us’ all the unsuspected things of life, all that we  have no control over in life (the Kuiper Belt). And along the way, it permeates our personal protections and societal/personal ‘masks’ (Neptune and Uranus)…it represents the metaphysical talent life has for inspiring, daunting and challenging both our efforts and what we’re ever so sure we know for true (Saturn and Jupiter).

 Diagram of the greater solar system (credit: NASA-JPL)

After doing all that, comet Thatcher then sails through the asteroid belt, illuminating, sparking and showing up so many possibilities and  pitfalls life and processes can hold…it’s about interrupting what we thought we were so sure about doing (Thatcher passing Mars) and bringing ALL that not just back to us and our life, but a little beyond.

A little beyond, you ask?

Yes. The planets which orbit between Earth and the Sun (that Sun being emblematic of the core of our existence – life itself)…there are only two planets there.

One is Mercury: our thought processes. And the other is Venus. Any way you slice this, these are personal and internal qualities. We act/interact with others to feed the needs outlined by Venus and Mercury, and by their nature in our natal charts (especially when combined with transiting indicators) we can tell how well (or not so well) these attributes are functioning in our lives.

Venus transiting in front of the Sun

(photo credit: Jan Herold - June 8 2004)

The astrological Venus represents value and worth - and the cause/effect of our being able to get the desired response from others based on the quality/qualities of our Self that we bring to the table - or put on public display, use in our interactions or embody as a 'product' we put out into the world.

When we say ‘worth’ here, we mean ‘self-worth,’ even though yes…many do try to substitute financial worth for a sense of worthiness.

(Hmmm…could we be hearing an echo of the Sedna maturity thing here?)

Probably the interesting quality about comets is their tail. The fact they have one, and that even when the comet itself is (as Thatcher is currently) far, far away, a smattering, a dappling of all they bring to us remains for Earth to be ‘reminded by’ once every year.

It’s sort of like how we celebrate ancient holidays. Or traditions. Or how there’s so much to be learned from the tail (trail, tales) of those who have gone before us.

Is it any wonder that at this time when economics and so much wrestling with what is basic and what is extravagant and being in simple touch (with reality or others)? It any wonder Sedna is now nearing its perihelion?

One would guess that there are many – too many – who are in the process of throwing all the rules and standards out the window. The ‘why’s are probably legion here, but everybody seems to be polarized, particularly in terms of ‘what’s wrong with them but don’t you dare point at me!’

Yes, it’s a challenge. Through what we do and our contributions to the world (and others around us) we hopefully earn respect, acceptance, love and (oh yes,) money.

Yes, this would be the Taurean precept, AND where folks try to make that short cut between ‘self-worth’ and ‘worth.’

From the real deal development of the internal Self comes (in time) satisfaction. That satisfaction is all about having known you really lived up to your potential. In spite of that old saying ‘the one who dies with the most toys, wins’ life isn’t about a competition with someone else. Exteriorizing our (self) worth to the point that we think what others matter is the measure of who we are is not only a bit dicey, but a sure and ready symptom of an internal self-worth issue begging to be nurtured.

And how to do we nurture them? Like the myth of Sedna teaches, as implied by Thatcher’s path, the Lyrids – occurring just as Taurus begins – urges us to tend our own mortal, mental garden. As to help, life ‘sprinkles’ (or ‘peppers’) us with ideas…and sometimes critiques or problems. The point isn’t to set us back. The point is to give us perspective so we can feel our own feelings, fix our own basis of perspective and in time, become more secure.

From our security, and from that which we create in life because we do feel secure – that’s where real respect from others and ourselves is born.   

So maybe you’ll get some really insightful glimpses on yourself, your friends or this world about now.

Thatcher was “officially” discovered back in 1861, and though comets don’t ‘come from the stars’ as was thought Way Back When, metaphysically, the point where they “originate” from (known as a comet’s “radiant”) matters.

At least astrologically, I mean.

In the case of Thatcher, it’s 'origination’ point ‘appears’ to be in constellation Lyra.

Constellation Lyra

From that, we can deduce that Thatcher – and thus our yearly Lyrid Meteor Shower period – carry at least a bit of the qualities associated with Lyra’s brightest star, Vega.

What's Vega about? Vega is about charisma - having it and how you use it. Vega is associated with great orators, writers, singers, salespeople and those who use charm to get their way.

Vega can be a great positive - or personal negative. Some of us use it, some of us are prone to getting used by it.

 Fixed star Vega as photographed by the Spitzer Space Telescope

(photo credit: NASA-JPL/Spizer Space Telescope team)

And yes, some of us use and get used.  

I mentioned Thatcher’s being discovered in 1861, but the Lyrids? They’ve been known to mankind long, long, long before that. We have a record in China’s Zuo Zhuan which in referring to May 22 of 687 BCE references the Lyrids.

And that tells us something else. Back in 687 BCE this meteor shower was occurring just at the very beginning of Gemini. These day’s it’s happening just at the beginning of Taurus. That’s a shift from mentality to self-esteem and a sign that the Lyrids are about a linking of though and self-esteem.

You may think this is about what we think of ourselves, and that may well be true. You may mean this refers to thinking through our personal issues in order to solve them, and again – I can’t find any flaw with that. You may think this linking of ‘thought’ and ‘worth’ is emblematic of the Information Age and all the intellectual property rights which are becoming more and more valuable and all the fracas about that. Or that it’s through our exercise of mind that we invest in ourselves and do anything of worth which (according to the Taurus pattern) give us the maximal ability to grow our self-worth and our financial worth (if that’s on our agenda) and wind up feeling satisfied and secure about our life.

Again, I’m with you.

So while this isn’t likely to be an earth-shattering moment (and if it is, it’s not Thatcher doing the shattering) this is a time when considering what life is really worth is probably apropos.

Then again, it may be a perfect time to sit and the window and gaze out at the stars. There’s something very humbling yet very reassuring to know how small we really are. It takes the pressure off…and somehow frees us to be more than we were when we got up just this morning.

That’s enlightenment!

The Lyrid Meteor Shower

 Earthbound by Evelyn de Morgan (1897)

Meteor showers are interesting astronomical and astrological critters. Some are famous, the others tend to get a quick look and then on to the next thing.

The Lyrid meteor shower crests today – April 22 – and will continue being visible for the next few days. The origin of this meteor shower is a comet: C/1861 G1 (ah, romance…)…aka Thatcher, as in A.E. Thatcher, the person who discovered it.

For astrological purposes, there are a couple of generally interesting points of the Lyrid shower – the first being that it ‘bridges’ a period we would know in Sun sign terms as late Aries into early Taurus. Given that meteors represent a ‘showering of ideas’ (incidents, facts) this would mark days between April 16th and April 26th (depending on the year) as days which we would expect to have their own little quirks. Their own oddities. Their own little special events.

In my world, one was getting rousted from a sound morning sleep by chainsaws starting up about 15 feet (if that) away from where I was sleeping as the owner of my apartment complex tied into the landscaping portion of a major building rehabilitation project. (If you don't remember that blog...here 'tis the LINK.)

But then I got a phone call – quite out of the blue – from someone I know and consider a friend, if only through correspondence. We sat and talked for some two and a half hours, which if you know me is something of an endurance record (no, I’m not exactly married to the telephone. The computer, yes. The phone, no.).

Beyond me, I know a couple with a Him who is about to serve Her with ‘get out of my house’ papers. Yes, today…with Mercury at it’s station/direct point. He has some ‘idea’ this is the right thing to do to ‘get the ball rolling’ (the divorce). Will she weep and cry and move out – or will this set off WW3 in their household?

My point here is that these Lyrid days have had their peculiarities. And yesterday when I went out, the combination of the Lyrids and Mercury going on station to go direct tomorrow…well, all I can say is there was some of the wackiest street maneuvers I have seen in quite some time going on.

 Ah, Los Angeles traffic...here's a photo of Interstate 10 (one of the truly

busy roads of the entire world) looking east from Crenshaw Boulevard

photo credit: Downtowngal

As someone who lives in Los Angeles (land of the automobile) the experience of driving is always an interesting reflection of what’s going on astrologically. Mercury stations are notoriously intense; whatever’s going on, it intensifies.

What I noticed is that people were deciding to stop in odd places at odd angles. It’s as if they had a whole new idea on what the rules of automotive conduct were. Or maybe that for this while, they were just going to toss those rules.

Those little quirks, ideas, the maybe I’ll call her…maybe I’ll just do ‘this’…that’s the sort of thing we would expect from the Lyrids, as they start in Aries (I Am/I Do) and they extend on into Taurus – the exploration or demonstration of what our values are. Or maybe are. Or could grow to be. Or maybe we should question if we believe we actually value that idea – or that person?

The comet behind this shower – Thatcher – is an extremely long-period comet. Considering it takes Thatcher 415.5 years to go once around the Sun, the comet itself doesn’t show its icy tail in our environs all that often. But it does leave shards – or twinkles in its wake, the icy comet ‘dust’ which Earth passes through on a yearly basis, getting it’s little Lyrid shower.

How close to us does Thatcher get? Well, let’s start with that one ‘AU’ (astronomical unit) equaling the mean/averaged distance from Earth to the Sun. With that in mind, given that Thatcher’s perihelion (inner orbital point) is at 0.9207au, that means it actually  crosses that of Earth.

And thus suggests ideas which cross our norm. Okay, that works.

Since Earth is at 1.0au and Venus is the next planet in at 0.728au at it’s aphelion (farthest point from the Sun), Thatcher doesn’t get quite as far as Venus. So it’s not about concrete things or concreting things – those are metaphysically Venusian.

So who does Thatcher hang out with as it does an ‘about face’ and begins heading out into far, far solar systemic space? Answer: another couple of comets - Swiff-Tuttle and Tempel-Tuttle. The astronomical space mechanics of this is a whole piece of astrophysical rationality we’re not going to bother going into. Suffice it to say that if many of the well known comets do a turn-around in the environs of Earth, that’s the way the solar system works.

But it’s also very emblematic of the metaphysical idea that this ‘far flung’ ideas (comets) bring us these ‘startling visions’ from time to time…and when they’re not here in person, they leave a little twinkle of an idea to inspire us now and again.

 /

Küstenlandschaft bei Mondschein

by Wilhelm Krause (1862)

And when we look at where comets come from, that’s also where they seem to represent separate things. Temple-Tuttle’s (the comet which brings us the Leonid meteor shower)…it’s outer orbital point is between Saturn and Uranus. The aphelion of the comet (Glacobini-Zinner) which brings us the Draconid meteor shower is even closer – it goes only as far as beyond Jupiter but shy of Saturn.

Then we get to Swiff-Tuttle, comet of the Leonid shower. Swiff-Tuttle also passes Earth – it’s perihelion point is 0.9585au. But it’s aphelion point is waaaaay out there beyond Neptune. Beyond Pluto! Pluto and fellow Neptune-controlled Plutinos Ixion and Huya roam the 49-to-50.363au district, which is Swiff-Tuttle’s outer range, this being a comet whose aphelion is measured at 51.225au.

But Thatcher? Thatcher’s reach is twice that! Thatcher goes all the way out to 110.443au – so it’s metaphysics would be ‘out of the norm’ indeed.

How out of the norm, you ask? Well let’s just say that its out there is the Eris/Sedna operational area. There’s a funny cross-over with Eris and Sedna in terms of their (highly infrequent) crossing of orbital paths, and Thatcher crosses into and through this district which in Venn Diagram terms is where discord (Eris) overlaps immaturity (Sedna).

Hence the temporary lapses of the ‘usual’ – and what you make of that…that’s up to you. It’s often said that life isn’t what’s handed us, it’s how we respond to what get handed us. The Lyrid Meteor shower probably doesn’t ‘fix’ anything, but it certainly does seem to mark out a few days each year when we test out how to live our lives.